The Elephant in the Fish Tank
by bookdiva
Summary: Just a funny little one-shot about how the kiss gets brought up. Leave a review, and let me know what you think. If enough people like it, maybe it'll be a two-shot with a Densi discussion at last!
1. Chapter 1

"I think we need a new fish tank," Deeks said.

It had been a quiet day in OSP, and all the team members were in the bull pen working on paperwork.

I groaned and stifled a smile, rolling my eyes at my partner. Sam just chuckled.

Actually, Sam had been a lot nicer to Deeks since they'd been back from… but I couldn't let my mind go there. We were finally getting a sense of normality back - at least as normal as it could be with the undressed elephant in the room - and I was grateful for that.

"New fish?" Eric asked sounding intrigued. "What were you thinking?"

"Well, I think the armored catfish works well for Sam," Deeks said, completely serious, "so we'd probably have to stick with that. Besides," he continued, flashing a smirk in Sam's direction, "Sam doesn't do well with change."

I instinctively held my breath, but I needn't have worried. Sam laughed.

"No, I just don't see any reason to change something that works." Sam shot back good-naturedly.

"Callen, any ideas for your fish?"

"What," Callen said with a smirk, not even looking up from his paperwork. "The first tank wasn't enough?"

"Well, I think I'm more… exotic than a gold fish."

I couldn't help the snort that slipped through my act at that comment.

"Ouch," he shot at me with his usual cheeky grin. "Anyway, I'm thinking Eric and Nell can be the kissing fish again, but I'm not sure about you, Callen."

Eric blushed bright red at Deeks's words, but Nell just narrowed her eyes dangerously. Deeks didn't seem to notice, but I definitely did. Then, Nell's expression became dangerously sweet. It worried me immensely.

"Actually Deeks," Nell said. "I think, if we're going on _recent events_, then there's another couple who should be the _kissing_ fish."

Deeks's eyes went wide, and I audibly gasped in shock.

_Nell knows? How does Nell know?_

I shot a panicked look over at my partner only to find him already staring at me.

At the same time, we seemed to realize how she knew. We'd been wearing coms when he'd kissed me, after all. I just couldn't believe Nell had used this against me. I thought we were friends.

When I finally looked away from my partner and back at Nell, she was studying us. When I met her gaze, I saw understanding light up her eyes, and she immediately looked sorry. But the damage was done

My gaze darted out to see Sam looking at us curiously. Even Callen had looked up from his and was staring at us.

I looked back at Nell, and silently begged her to say something to draw attention off of this. Deeks was paralyzed, so he wasn't going to be much help.

"Who, Nell?" Callen asked.

"Uhhh, hmmm…. Sam and Michelle, duh!?" Nell said, her voice only a little too high pitched. "I just thought, since Sam's a part of our team, Michelle should be too! I mean, since all that's… happened? With, you know, and I just thought that… well, we should include… because our team is, uh…"

"You know what?" Deeks cut in, and I couldn't've been more grateful. "Maybe it's not such a good idea. I mean, last time they all died, so maybe it's like… a sign or something. Besides," he added with a smirk, which I was pretty sure seemed real to everyone but me, "apparently kissing fish aren't actually kissing, so there's no love there."

His words made Sam, Callen, and Eric laugh, but Nell and I heard the underlying meaning there.

Nell shot me a look, clearly asking me what it meant.

I just shook my head. Her eyes widened as she realized Deeks and I hadn't talked about it.

"I think I'm going to go get lunch," Deeks said, looking away from me. "Any requests?"

He asked it more as a formality, as he didn't stick around long enough to hear. He was out the door before anyone could make a request.

"Wow," Sam said with a chuckle. "He must really want fish tacos."

I sighed with relief.

Nell looked over at me and met my gaze meaningfully. I got the message.

_Go after him. TALK to him. _

And in that moment, I made my decision.

"I'm going to, uh, go with him," I said, grabbing my bag. "Someone has to make sure we have edible lunch."

And with that, I raced out of the mission after my partner.


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN: WOW! I was sooooo surprised at the response this story got! It was originally going to just be a one-shot, but due to popular request, here's a second chapter! **_

* * *

_Nell knows. _

The panicked thought was running on a loop in my head.

_She knows. _

Kensi looked equally horrified, and her eyes seemed to beg me for help, but I was too paralyzed to do anything.

Apparently, kissing Kensi had not been one of my better ideas, but I still couldn't make myself regret it. The feel of her lips on mine was… right. But she'd walked away, and judging from her face right now, she felt the same way. I guess I couldn't really be sure - we'd never actually talked about it, after all - but her face seemed to scream it at me.

"Who, Nell?" Callen's question startled me out of my thoughts.

"Uhhh, hmmm…. Sam and Michelle, duh!?" Nell said, her voice only a little too high pitched. She was smart, but she was also honest. "I just thought, since Sam's a part of our team, Michelle should be too! I mean, since all that's… happened? With, you know, and I just thought that… well, we should include… because our team is, uh…"

"You know what?" I cut in, not trusting Nell to cover this up. Besides, I'd been lying to the team for months now with my 'I'm fine' standard answer. "Maybe it's not such a good idea. I mean, last time they all died, so maybe it's like… a sign or something. Besides," I added with a smirk that I tried my best to make real, "apparently kissing fish aren't actually kissing, so there's no love there."

I couldn't look at Kensi when I said this. She would hear - she always did - and she would either kill me, which I would prefer, or she'd pity me. But I guess those are really the same thing, because if there was one thing I wouldn't survive, it was Kensi Bad-Ass-Blye's pity.

This line of thinking wasn't going to do me any favors.

"I think I'm going to go get lunch," I said. I just needed to get away from Kensi. Immediately. "Any requests?"

I asked it more as a formality,booking it to the door before anyone could make a request. I was sure the guys would play it off as me

"Wow," I faintly heard Sam chuckle. "He must really want fish tacos."

I sighed with relief.

_Free and clear. _

I exited the mission and stopped for a moment, closed my eyes, and soaked in the beautiful LA sunshine. I stood there much longer than necessary, when I heard a voice behind me.

"Deeks?"

I whipped around and immediately lost all the relaxation I'd gained from my moment with the sun. It took a moment before I recovered from my surprise.

_Time to get back to the act. _

I smirked.

"Hey Fern," I said, forcing my voice to sound casual while taking a step away from her. "I'm just headed to the pier. I'll be back."

Her eyes widened at my last words, and I winced as I remembered when I'd left after our first case together. Shaking off the memories, I turned around and headed toward my car.

"Deeks?" she called again.

"Hmm… yeah?" I said, opening my car door and not turning around. When she didn't reply, I turned around, but she wasn't there.

_Typical. _

I got in my car, shut the door, and jumped when the passenger side door opened and Kensi crawled in.

"What are you doing?" I asked, confused by her presence.

Her mismatched eyes just stared into mine, and the expression there - while once an open book to me - was unreadable.

"I'm going with my partner to get the food," she said, her voice sounding… different. "But first," she said, reaching around for her buckle, "we have to make a stop."

I just shook my head at her and forced a smirk onto my face.

"Alrighty then. Where too, Fern?"

* * *

A half hour later, we were sitting outside a strip mall.

"Dare I ask," I began, looking over at her with a suggestive smirk, "why you brought me to a _strip_ mall?"

She just laughed quietly, and it felt almost normal. Almost.

"Come with me," she said, exiting the car. I got out and followed her. She led me around to the side to a door that read

PHIL"S EXOTIC FISH

"Whaaaat are we doing at a fish store," I asked cautiously.

"Well, I was thinking," she began, sounding too serious. That wasn't good. I was relatively fragile right now, and I couldn't _take_ serious if it meant what I thought it meant.

"That's never good," I cut her off with a smirk. I didn't dodge the punch I knew was coming. Instead I took it and turned away from her. "Besides, Kens, we're not doing another fish tank, remember?"

"Listen carefully, Deeks," Kensi said, pulling on my arm and making me look at her, "because I'm being serious here."

She took a deep breath.

"You're scaring me Kens," I whispered.

She managed a strained smile.

"Look, fish are a big commitment, okay?"

_Okay, not the beginning I was expecting. _

"Okaaaaay…?" I replied, trying to catch up to wherever my partner was.

"I'm serious. It's a big deal, and it's _scary!_ But that doesn't mean that it isn't _good_, okay?"

I just nodded my head. Something told me we weren't talking about fish anymore.

"It _is_ good," she repeated. "So I was thinking," she began again, "that everyone else's fish can stay the same, but _we _need a new fish."

I couldn't help it. My heart betrayed me and leapt into my eyes.

_Is she saying what I think she''s saying?_

She dragged me over to a tank of deep gold fish.

"These are golden angelfish," she said, looking up at me. "I think this should be _our_ fish."

I felt a smile break out on my face as I realized what she was trying to tell me. And then, in the middle of Phil's Exotic Fish store, Kensi Blye pulled me down for the best kiss of my life.


End file.
